A Scarborough man allegedly offered more than once to pay tens of thousands of dollars to a hired gun to have his wife, their kids and a lawyer killed, sources tell the Toronto Sun.

Instead, the 52-year-old ended up behind bars when the hitman he allegedly tried to hire most recently turned out to be an undercover cop.

The accused, whose name is protected by a court-ordered publication ban, was arrested Thursday and faces eight charges, Toronto Police confirm.

Those charges include three counts of counselling to commit murder, one count each of counselling to traffic a firearm and counselling to traffick cocaine, two counts of public mischief, and one count of failing to comply with a recognizance order.

Police were unable to offer further details of the case but court documents show the first accusations of counselling someone to commit murder occurred between Sept. 22 and Oct. 29.

Sources say police were tipped off about the alleged attempts to hire a hitman and the accused became the focus of an undercover investigation.

The man was arrested after a third alleged attempt to contract a hit some time between Nov. 8 and 17, according to court documents.

The documents state the drug, firearm and mischief related charges all occurred between Nov. 11 and 17.

He also allegedly failed to comply with his recognizance order on Nov. 13 when he police say he violated a court order prohibiting any direct or indirect contact with his wife and kids.

The man made a brief appearance in a Scarborough courtroom Friday afternoon. The court issued a publication ban on the names of the victims and the accused.

Neither the Crown nor duty counsel would comment on the case.

The accused remains in custody and is expected to appear in court again on Tuesday.